A new Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) system has been recently introduced to the Police force in Utah and California, and is now standard equipment on their patrol cars. These special cameras can automatically “read” license plates — 3,000 an hour! — then compares them to a central database where information is stored concerning any kind of crime linked to the vehicle.

The reading can take place in any weather condition, and even in complete darkness! With this type of system, criminals will have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

Source: Gizmag

Researchers at the North Carolina State University have created a new process to make jet fuel out of animal fat and vegetable oil. This technology, called Centia^TM — short for crudus potentia, or “green power” in Latin — is totally “green” and does not involve the use of any petroleum-derived products. The team is currently working on further developing this process to make car fuel as an environmentally-friendly alternative to the traditional gasoline.

New biofuels technology developed by North Carolina State University engineers has the potential to turn virtually any fat source – vegetable oils, oils from animal fat and even oils from algae – into fuel to power jet airplanes.

Source: North Carolina State University

Dr. Rajesh Ransing and his team at Swansea University, Wales, UK, has devised a new self-learning software that will be used in car manufacturing as well as in hospitals for patient treatment. Taking into account all the different — and often very complex! — interactions of variables, this system will allow for better efficiency in both processes. It is great news to know that Artificial Intelligence will soon take care of the production of our metal body — our car — along with the maintenance of our organic one too.

Source: Swansea University

The new MiniC.A.T. is the first non-polluting, compressed air powered car to enter production. The recent deal that the inventors struck with Tata, the biggest Indian car manufacturer, will allow this “green” automobile technology to be mass-produced and available to all. Apart from having an engine of the most unusual kind, the car also has a single-wire electrical system and complete wireless control. The central controlling computer allows you not only to keep an eye on the vehicle’s parameters, such as speed, but also to be connected to the Internet, a satellite GPS system, and many other external information providers.

Last, but not least, the cost of running this car will be extremely low, as all you’ll need is an appropriate gas station able to supply you with compressed air. With an autonomy of 120 to 190 miles and a speed up to 68 mph, this seems to be the ideal vehicle for town traffic. No more choking fumes, but a breath of fresh (compressed) air!

Source: The MDI Air Car

Here are a few items that we stumbled upon while out on Sunday Patrol…

Reviews

HardwareZone reviews the HP ToucSmart IQ770 PC and the CoolerMaster X Craft 250 HDD Enclosure

OCIA reviews the Logitech MX Revolution Wireless Laser Mouse

ClubOC reviews the IPC Queen Dual 3.5 Inch HDD Enclosure and the CoolerMaster Gemini II Universal Heatsink

Monster Hardware manages to dodge Monster Cable’s lawyers and posts a review of the Cyberhome 6-Speaker Headphones

Virtual Hideout reviews the OCZ Vindicator High Performance CPU Cooler

OC Inside reviews the ASRock ALive NF6G-DVI AMD Socket AM2 Motherboard

Xbit Labs takes on 18 Low Coast Dual Core Processors

Hardware Asylum reviews the Corsair HX620 Power Supply and the OCZ GameXStream Power Supply. They toss in a review of the Corsair Dominator PC2-9136 too.

TechGage reviews the Razer Tarantula Gaming Keyboard

Articles

HardwareZone continues with their CeBIT 2007 Coverage and so does Guru3D with over 26 Pages!

That’s All Folks!  Have a great evening!